Dealing—Part 8

Sodapop's POV

"I saw Sandy this morning in the park." Admitting it, getting it off my chest, telling my brother exactly what was going on felt better than I thought it would. Of course, there was a lot more to say, but now the basic fact was out in the open.

He looked shocked. I wonder if I looked like him when I saw her in the morning. Most likely even more so, since I was the worst at hiding my feelings to people, a prime example being that both Steve and my two brothers had immediately known something was up today. "Y-you saw Sandy? And her baby?"

I sighed. "Yep, and her baby. A little girl named Daphne. Say, why don't we call her Daffy from now on?"

"Sure, Soda, whatever you say," Ponyboy said, sounding a little dazed. "Did she look like Sandy? What did she say to you?"

"The baby?" I couldn't help getting in a joke. "Well, she can't talk yet, Pony, so she didn't say anything."

Ponyboy, for once, didn't grin, but held my gaze. "Come on, Soda, I'm serious. What did Sandy say to you when she saw you? Is she here for good now?"

I sighed. Wow, I was doing a lot of that lately. I never liked people sighing, the ones who did it this often were worried or anxious or sometimes depressed. I didn't want to be any of those things. But glory, sometimes it was hard to keep smiling. I've always been expected to be the one who cheers people up, the one who keeps going when everyone else has given up. The guys depend on me.

"Well, she was pretty surprised to see me there. And reading a book too—I think she just about had a heart attack," I said sarcastically. "We didn't really say much. She's only in town for a few days, I think, so her parents can meet Daffy."

Finally, the serious mask on Pony's face cracked and he couldn't hide a smile. "Are you really gonna call Sandy's baby Daffy?"

"Sure, why not?" I answered, my smile once again coming easily. "Every kid deserves a nickname, I mean look at our names, right?"

Ponyboy paused, and I knew he was thinking what I was: Ponyboy, Sodapop, Darry, Dally, Johnnycake, Stevie, Two-Bit—yeah, we all have unusual names or nicknames. So why not bestow one to Sandy's baby? "All right, Soda. From now on we can call her Daffy. Hey, did you realize that this kid's gonna be sharing a name with Daffy Duck?"

I laughed. I actually hadn't until now. "Great! Well, ain't she a lucky girl?"

Ponyboy chuckled too. "So…anything else you need to talk about?"

I leaned over and messed up his hair. I knew he'd understand and not ask anything he knew would bother me. He's great that way. "Naw, I'm good for now. Thanks for listening, Pony. Anything you need to talk about, get off your chest?" I could've sworn I saw something flash in my little brother's eyes, but he just shook his head quickly and said no, there was nothing. So of course then I knew that there was something bothering him, but just like he'd waited until I was ready to tell him, I wouldn't push him to share anything with me.

"Allright, then I think I'm gonna keep reading that theme of yours," I told him, hopping off the sofa and grabbing a banana as I passed the kitchen. I then went into the bedroom and picked up the theme, but I just couldn't concentrate. The only thing I could think about was the look on Sandy's face.

AN: Sorry it's so short! But it's hard to do a long chapter sometimes. And before this I didn't know Daffy Duck was so old! I had to make sure he was around back then, and I found out he was created all the way in 1937! Please review!